Life takes many turns. Some for the better, some for the worst. Over the course of a lifetime, everybody experiences both. It’s just the natural order of things.

But understanding how negative circumstances are capable of empowering you going forward, enlightening you towards new perspectives and shaping your frame of mind for the experiences ahead on your journey, is the secret ingredient, I believe.

Everybody would like an easy path, free of distraction, disappointment, pain, uncertainty and overt conflict. But that just isn’t the human experience, is it?

The reality that without light there would be no shadow, facilitates our ongoing belief of a future that holds brighter opportunity.

So we cling to that belief of a brighter future and in the course of doing so, we rely upon the resources that we have aggregated during our journey. These are the experiences that shape you.

Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it. Those who do study history are doomed to watch others who did not study history repeat it. But when it comes to our own personal sphere of influence, at a minimum, I think it takes everything we have to hold it together under the most difficult of circumstances and remain bold and confident that if we are walking through a valley, the next hill must be just ahead.

I think it’s important to treasure who you are, the experiences that you have lived through, and most importantly what you have learned along the way and practice that with everything you’ve got going forward.

Have an outstanding Friday, I hope it brings you great joy and satisfaction?

QUESTION OF THE DAY: What experiences have shaped you?

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In order to love who you are, you cannot hate the experiences that shaped you.

Every person goes through highs and lows over the course of their lifetime. Changes are just what is in life. In Asian cultures they call this “the isness of things.” Things are neither good nor bad, they just are.

Whereas in western cultures we are trained to see things as fitting somewhere inbetween a continuum of opposites. Something is either tall or short. Good or bad. Happy or sad.

Lao Tzu remains one of my most favorite philosophers and when I came upon this particular quotation I had my doubts. I am a firm believer in being the master of my own destiny. I don’t like to leave anything open to the proverbial “what if?” I would much rather plan, stay in control and assure my results.

Sadly there are so many things that are way outside of my control, life has proven to me time and time again that regardless of all the planning, all of my dedicated efforts, everything is still completely fallible. Life changes.

Witness all of the plans that I had in December 2019 for what I thought 2020 was going to be.

If going through COVID-19 (and it really should be called COVID-20, shouldn’t it?) teaches us anything at all, it is that the best laid plans of mice and men are entirely fallible in the face of something larger than life. This clearly gives meaning to the statement that hindsight is 2020.

My takeaway in coming back to this particular quotation is the recognition that happiness is a transient variable predicated upon frame of mind. In the past, I have sent you quotations from Viktor Frankl, who endured the horrific atrocities of the Nazi concentration camp and emerged a wiser and more centered person. As you read his book you come to recognize that this was all frame of mind and that frame of mind remains supreme.

Life is certainly going to take its own course, no different than the flow of the river or the tides of the ocean, but when we are capable of seeing and interpreting those forces, it becomes incumbent upon all of us to restructure our thought processes and emerge stronger and wiser for the elasticity required to surf the tides of change.

There are forces that are much larger than anything within our control, accepting those as a foregone conclusion, and allowing yourself the strength to evolve in the face of each one of the changes, strikes me as the best strategy anyone can potentially adopt. Wishing you a very successful Wednesday!?

QUESTION OF THE DAY: How has life created necessary changes in your experiences?

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Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them-that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow forward naturally in whatever way they like. – Lao Tzu

It is so simple to look backwards at the past with hopes of recourse and a desire to rectify what has already happened. In the majority of cases, this proves to be water under the bridge with limited, or in most circumstances, no opportunity for rectification in helping you to live a better life.

By choosing to look at the past, rather than staying in the present and focusing on what can be accomplished in the moment, you ultimately enter a loop of insanity. The internal video in your mind plays over and over again, taunting and teasing you with the prospect of going back in time to change a decision. This creates a doggedly determined perspective to rectify rather than to proceed into the future with a proper game plan.

The key to growth is awakening to that understanding and a recognition that the only pathway that makes any sense is moving forward with intent, dedication, and a clear mind that has accepted the past for what it is and allowed a new opportunity to mature as you move forward.

Everything else, in my personal experience, is just mental torture that is wholly unnecessary and incredibly unproductive.

This COVID-19 crisis has given all of us an opportunity to take inventory of what is most valuable in our world, to wish and hope that something different had happened in the past, and to expect to live in a brighter future as we emerge. That brighter future will only happen with our intent and focus on what is possible versus what has already transpired as what was.
Wishing you a vibrant Tuesday full of new possibilities!!????

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Is there a nagging chapter from your past that is precluding your ability to move forward with your life?

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If you won’t let the past die, then it won’t let you live.

Regardless of which side of the aisle a family sits on, when a family member goes overseas to fight a battle in the name of The United States Of America, the potential sacrifice is every bit equal: red or blue.

We all treasure our children, we treasure our liberty, freedom, and our ability to communicate freely in our very unique society.

We are so many generations past a time where being outspoken was instant cause for arrest, torture or death. And yet there are plenty of countries around the world in which these practices are de facto today.

I don’t think people in the United States could fathom having to keep their opinions to themselves. This is a freedom that we have grown up with and let’s face it…the majority of people are already complaining about having to stay inside or wear a mask, imagine the complaints if suddenly they were all told to keep their opinions to themselves or they could be pulled out of their home and executed on the spot in front of their family members.

These are the freedoms that our soldiers have put above their own lives as virtues willing to commit to. The ones who are lucky enough to come home are many times displaced, mentally wounded, or physically wounded and need full medical attention.

Watching the virus spread quickly through veteran hospitals around the country, and seeing the lack of sufficient supplies to keep these men and women protected, is unconscionable to me.

The reason I cherish this particular quotation is because it exemplifies exactly the way that I feel. The more you travel around the world, the more cultures you are exposed to, the more life experiences you have, the more you come to fall madly and deeply in love with our country.

There is truly none better around the world. America is very much worth fighting for. The partisan agenda in either party is as potentially damaging as anything else. In my opinion it remains incumbent upon all of us to perpetually watch both parties and remind all of them that they work for us. The citizens of the United States. The taxpayers. The people who make this country work.

I hope as we navigate our way through this crisis, that we are capable as a people to see that there is nothing wrong with America that what is right about America could not fix. It just requires civil discourse and following the letter of the law as prescribed.

Here’s to the Heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf so that we might have this day of relaxation and contemplation. Wishing you a very happy Memorial Day???

QUESTION OF THE DAY: What do you love most about living in the United States?

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I love America more than any country in this world, and exactly for that reason, insist on the right to criticize her perpetually. James Baldwin

What if The Matrix had some shades of validity? What if each of us were tuned in to the reality that we are experiencing with a definitive sculpting purpose? I’m the first one to tell you that this is way out in left field, so indulge me for a minute… even if none of what I’m saying has validity….

What if we are plugged into The Matrix and we are waking up day after day after day in a video game of sorts that presents itself as our daily lives?

What if there were actually far greater rewards if we were able to evolve to the standards that the Buddha presents in my quote above? What if your ability to love, your ability to be gentle and your ability to be graceful in allowing many aspects of life that do not concern you to flow by you like the stream flows by a stone in the middle of the water?

I grew up playing games, in all formats… my brain loves them and it loves to find the solution, and proceed to a win. That works when you know the rules, but what if the rules were entirely obfuscated for a real reason? The Matrix? Or…What if the reason was one’s need to evolve into a higher being? We see shades of this lesson coming through various organized religion and their respective doctrines. We see shades of this lesson coming through life rewarding people with high vibrational frequencies with a more sublime existence.

Are each of these representations sufficient to make any of us feel that these are the rules that we are engaging in order to achieve the win? The answer is no. And the majority of humanity is oblivious to these direct potential outcomes.

Some religions believe in a reincarnation that facilitates the growth of the soul, lifetime after lifetime, in an attempt to reach an enlightened state of being.

When I look for a morsel of philosophy to share in my daily quotations, I am always writing each one of these for myself.

A thought that is important to me, a growth path that I feel I need to embrace or just a moment of galvanization of my internal being to allow me to continue on my path. Unless I am of course, plugged into The Matrix, and then would any of this matter anyway?

I initially started making these morsels of philosophy to share with my kids because it is a lot easier to teach deep thought, one at a time, than overwhelm anyone with a giant doctrine.

As friends asked me to share them, it has turned into a daily ritual for me. For me it is one part therapy, one part benevolence, one part just being a sentient human being who cares about others. But last night when I found this picture and put Buddha into The Matrix, I had to ask some deep questions.

Am I part of a larger game? Is my effort in sharing philosophy every morning some bigger value? I would love to tell you that I have the answers, I don’t. I’m just a man on a path of self-awareness and discovery. I hope these philosophies trigger your imagination, give you cause to have a discussion with another person on something that resonated with you, or at a minimum, delight you with the fact that you are so important to me that I will make the time to share any wisdom that I find in the hope that it makes your world one shade brighter. ?

I hope you have a Sunday full of joy and excitement❤️ and if in the end learning these lessons, unplugs us from The Matrix, I don’t want to eat cream of wheat every day, I really prefer the steak. That would make the final decision of choosing to unplug very difficult for me?

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Do you think we are plugged into The Matrix?

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In the end, only three things matter: How much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not made for you. – Buddha

Yesterday I had the proud privilege of watching my youngest stepdaughter graduate UC Davis veterinary school of medicine. Her mind has been myopically focused on getting through taking her board exams, only to exit with COVID-19 en route. It was a virtual graduation and it broke my heart that she had worked so hard to get to this day and have that moment of great joy diminished by COVID-19.

Last year on my birthday, my eldest stepdaughter, Rebecca, became a veterinarian and this year on my birthday my youngest. I have watched both of these magnificent ladies apply their minds, intellect, courage, dedication, fortitude and general goodwill towards all living creatures in a lifetime quest to be part of the bigger solution for creatures in need.

It was two of the best birthdays in a row that I might have ever asked for. This time as the graduation was sequestered to a virtual Facebook event, I gave great contemplation to why we are in these circumstances.

I am of the opinion that perhaps the greatest potential savior for humanity is women. Women have been suppressed since the dawn of time, but when given an equal education, they rise up and surpass a majority of men. I will spare you my political opinion but all you need to do is compare Angela Merkel with the Cheeto that is running the United States and if you do not see the huge disparity of minds, then you’re not looking close enough. Angela Merkel is heading the remnants of the most destructive nation of the 20th century and doing an incredible job while our Cheeto is trying his hardest to stack the deck with players that will bring back the same dark events of Angela’s country’s history.

I think if there is going to be any humane savior for humanity at large, it is more likely to be coming from female world leaders. A man has no concept of what it is like to bring another life into being while using their body as the incubator. I would have to believe that this extra encoded DNA detail adds to women’s minds in most cases a greater degree of compassion and desire to protect living things (including the planet) than a majority of men are equipped with.

White patriarchal society has been raping and pillaging the planet for so long, we are absolutely at the tipping point in our own lifetimes. It is for this reason that Sizzle is teaming up with some key players to bring a wealth of new solutions to humanity.

Women are truly beautiful mermaids at face value, but never underestimate the depth of their capabilities by judging them at skin deep appraisal. Women are the great hope for humanity and we should cherish them and encourage them everywhere that we can and empower them everywhere that we can. There are so many brilliant minds amongst them.

Congratulations Laura, you did it!!!❤️ Your family could not be more proud!

Hope you have a wonderful Saturday?

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Do you think the world would be a safer place with more female leaders of nations?

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She is a mermaid but approach her with caution. Her mind swims at a depth that most would drown in. -J. Iron Word

Wouldn’t it be nice if one could do something every once in awhile and still be successful at it? To dabble in something, yet be massively proficient at it? In my life experience I have found this never to be the case. The things that have mattered the most to me have required perpetual attention, dedication beyond measure and a willingness to come back to each experience fresh with the desire to improve.

I wouldn’t even pretend that it is always fun, in many cases, it is boring, repetitive, inconvenient and even sometimes annoying.

So what?

If a person is not willing to accept mediocrity in their life, not willing to settle for second-best, then the only option at one’s disposal is to implement self discipline at every level.

The single biggest impedance for a successful implementation of such a regimen, is of course oneself. We are the very best at finding reasons, excuses, explanations, alternative options and anything else that will ensure that we are not living up to the standard that we set for ourselves.

I have found the best recipe in my world for this erosive behavior is my continuous desire to improve upon the person I was yesterday. Surprisingly, this one tenent has anchored everything else into subordination and that seems to have made the difference.

Wishing you an exciting weekend full of joy and great happiness?

QUESTION OF THE DAY: What do you do consistently that is bringing you the greatest success?

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Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally, it comes from what you do consistently.

Inspiration is that moment when you can feel the deepest vibration within you, summoning you to catapult into ever hire states of creativity.

When you connect into Source, there is a deeper interconnectivity then we might truly understand at this stage of our evolution.

Da Vinci wrote about this, as did Mozart, Beethoven, Newton and others. They described their moments of ecstasis as a flow state in which pure inspiration was being summoned from a greater Source.

There is a great book called Stealing Fire that came out last year. In that book the two authors, Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal, extensively interviewed people across an entire spectrum of experiences, all of which are designed to increase Ecstasis and therefore, inspiration.

I found this book to be incredibly compelling because it delineated so many of the choices and paths that I have taken, in the pursuit of staying connected to inspiration through Source.

The more I read about the unified theory and what Schrodinger wrote about the universe being consciousness, the more I am convinced that this is so. In either respect, I think that Ram Dass is saying the same thing that Itzhak Perlman said in my quotation from last week in which he talked about why specific music makes him cry. I think it is the deep interconnected nature of everything being one and when that unity is deeply felt then I do believe that it is God making contact with itself.

And that is why inspiration feels so incredibly intense when it is happening through your own mind.

Sending you warmth and appreciation on this Thursday morning☕️?☕️??

QUESTION OF THE DAY: What inspires you most?

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Inspiration is God making contact with itself. -Ram Dass

When I find little traces of the world in February 2020 or earlier, it continually reminds me of the dual reality we are experiencing.

It’s funny, sometimes the little details are the ones that resonate the loudest.

It happens for the funniest of reasons… I scroll through the photos on my phone looking for something and as soon as I get earlier than February I see all of the activities that I had taken for granted. Or if I go to look up a charge on my credit card statement and I go back to February and see the charges from the restaurants and remember how common place all of that felt.

As we stay in our cages, looking at each other on a video communication pathway that Illusion Factory pioneered in 2005, I cannot help feeling like some of what the Matrix was projecting is coming true. These reflections remind me of how valuable the smallest things in life were and still are.

I think we are all craving a return to normal, and some are craving it with such intensity, that perhaps they are putting even more people’s lives at risk. When I have that wake up moment and remind myself how much I really value the life that I have been leading, I think it is very healthy to take stock of where things are currently and accelerate the appreciation that I feel for things that I had taken for granted.

It feels very much like dual realities to me which is the essence of why I picked this image and this thought for today. I have every confidence that we will re-emerge and that we are not going to be in this chaos forever.

Let’s hope that society pulls it together so that we can make this happen sooner than later?I hope you have a magical day!

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It’s OK, you just forgot who you are. Welcome back.

Reality is truly perceptual. Any situation can be viewed at face value for being what it is. But as we get wiser over time, we discover that reality can also be viewed through the filter of what is, what was, and what should be.

The opportunity to filter a current moment in time through those simple parameters enables us to learn how to take things in stride, reduce our internal suffering, and project brighter times ahead.

I don’t think there has been a moment in my lifetime in which all of humanity has been trying to leverage these filters in order to get to a brighter future collectively. To change our collective reality.

Some people are suffering considerably more than others right now as a result of COVID-19 and predicated upon how close or how removed you and your family are from those experiences, shapes your perspective as to what we are all experiencing.

I don’t usually spend time on the neighborhood app but as I am signed up for it to be aware of what is happening in my neighborhood, I happened upon a thread in which a few people in Bel Air were sharing an outraged perception that Ralph’s in Sherman Oaks had an employee who passed away from the virus. There were murmurs of litigation and flat out arrogance that triggered me to enter my own response sharing how grateful I was that these employees were in the store and facilitating my ability to shop right after the virus hit. I reminded them that the reality was that this woman in the bakery who passed away was someone’s daughter and I am sure she brought great joy to many peoples’ lives through what she did in the bakery, no different than Kobe Bryant. For them to overlook the fact that this poor woman lost her life by working in a supermarket, if that’s what happened, was a major tragedy in other people’s lives and perhaps my neighbors could be a bit more compassionate in their perception and a little less self entitled when contemplating reality.

There are a lot of tragedies happening as a result of this virus… both physical and financial and all of them lead to suffering. My note for this Monday is a reminder that whatever degree of discomfort you might be suffering through this chapter in history, perhaps it might be wise to take part of it in perspective to enable you to eventually transcend the suffering and emerge into the next chapter of your life.

We all have so much to be grateful for, sometimes starting your day on a note of gratitude can be the single most valuable tool for allowing you to march forward into the chaos and help establish your strength.

I am very grateful to have you in my life, in my reality, this is why I take the time to send these. Wishing you a very happy Monday?

QUESTION OF THE DAY: How do you see reality as being perceptual?

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Is suffering really necessary? Yes and no. If you had not suffered as you have, there would be no depth to you as a human being, no humility, no compassion. You would not be reading this now. Suffering cracks open the shell of ego, and it comes to the point where it has served its purpose. Suffering is necessary until you realize it’s unnecessary. – Eckhart Tolle